Mako-chan's Happy Ending
by Jet Wolf
Summary: Makoto's having a pretty crummy day when she's presented with a unique opportunity. What would you do, if you could do anything? [Posted here as an archive for a story written back in 1996. Humans were in fact alive then and could use computers, who knew.]
1. Part 1

This story was written long ago and far away, in the time of ancients  
known as 1996. I was a heavily active member of the Sailor Moon  
fandom then - if you were ever around alt. fan .sailor-moon it's  
possible you remember me. I'm Jet Wolf. Hi.

After a fifteen-year absence I've started rewatching the series and,  
much to my surprise, find that I'm falling in love with all over  
again. So I've started talking about it and very nice people with  
very long memories have approached me and wondered where some of the  
stuff I did In The Long Ago could be enjoyed today. Naturally I had  
no answer for this. But it did get me wondering if I even had that  
stuff anymore so I went looking. And I found some.

Much to my surprise, it's not all the completely embarrassing pit of  
shame that I was expecting. The fanfiction bits I don't mind keeping  
my name to, I'll be archiving here.

This is one of them.

This story remains largely unchanged from when it was first posted to  
rec. arts. anime. creative. I've changed the formatting to more current  
styles, corrected some typos (though probably not all, and that's so  
sad), and stripped out the random and gratuitious use of Japanese  
that infected so many of us at the time. Leaving the honourifics in  
though, for flavour and because I've never been completely satisfied  
that they keep the correct tone when translated.

It's a bit rough around the edges, but kept surprisingly well, I  
thought. Past Me invites you to enjoy.

* * *

===============================================  
STANDARD USELESS DISCLAIMER:  
While the story, for better or worse, is all mine, the  
characters aren't. Shocking news, no doubt. Well, take that back,  
one of them is mine, but she's really quite silly.  
===============================================

"Sometimes reality really stinks."

A rock was hurled with tremendous force into the inviting waters  
of a nearby creek, cracking the perfectly smooth surface and sending  
up a small geyser, leaving behind as its only mark, ripples that  
eventually dissipated into nothing. It was soon followed by  
another. And another.

Makoto Kino was not having a good day.

====================  
"Mako-chan's Happy Ending"  
by Nikki Purvis  
November 1996  
====================

"Dammit," Mako swore to herself. She sat sullenly on a rocky  
outcropping, looking out over the water into the horizon. The sun  
would be setting soon, and Mako usually liked to sit by herself and  
enjoy the beauty of it. But today was not one of those days.

Today, she was pouting.

She had just come from a meeting with her friends, the other  
Sailor Senshi, at Rei's temple. Usagi had been late, as usual, but  
her arrival had been heralded by heart wrenching sobs which halted  
all possible gripes about her tardiness. Mako had rushed to Usagi's  
side with the others, all frantically asking what had happened.

* * *

"M-Mamo-chaaaaaan!" Usagi wailed, tears streaming down her  
cheeks. She clutched the sleeve of Mako's school uniform and buried  
her face in it, sobbing as though her world had just ended.

"What about Mamoru, Usagi-chan?" Ami's soft voice was gentle  
and reassuring, and served to bring Usagi's head up. She sniffled a  
few times and opened her mouth, preparing to speak.

The girls leaned in close.

Usagi's bottom lip trembled.

Another ear-piercing cry invaded the air, sending several of the  
birds that lived around the temple flying away, squawking angrily.  
Usagi was once again weeping into Mako's shirt.

Rei's hands had reflexively gone to her ears, and she now  
removed them, instead placing one gently on the girl's heaving  
shoulder. "Now stop this, Usagi, before you drive every living  
thing from the grounds."

Usagi gave another sniffle and inhaled deeply. She stood up  
straight and tall, finally releasing her grip on Mako's shirt.

Minako offered a towel to Mako so she could dry off her sleeve.

Usagi's eyes drifted towards the sky and she steeled herself for  
what she was about to say.

Again, she opened her mouth.

The others took a wary step back.

"Usako."

The deep resonant voice from behind the group sent all five  
heads spinning towards it. Mamoru was standing at the edge of the  
temple's courtyard, hands in his pockets and a wry grin on his  
face. "Silly little odango-atama."

"Hmph!" Usagi turned her head away and jutted her chin out,  
arms across her chest defensively. But this momentary anger  
disappeared as suddenly as it had come, and soon her eyes were again  
brimming with tears and her lips were quivering. "You... You don't  
love me!"

At this, Mamoru laughed lightly, his eyes dancing. He looked  
intently at Usagi, the smile never once leaving his face. "Of  
course I love you, Usako. I've loved you for thousands of years and  
will love you for thousands more." He laughed again. "All I said  
was that I didn't like vanilla ice cream."

Mamoru spread his arms wide and with another cry-happy this  
time-Usagi bolted into them, rubbing her face affectionately on his  
shirt. Placing a finger under her chin, Mamoru tilted Usagi's head  
up until they were gazing at each other. Slowly, he leaned toward  
her.

"Mamo-chan..."

"Usako..."

"Spare me." Rei rubbed her forehead and walked back towards the  
temple steps, muttering about how the birds were never coming back  
again.

Minako looked on cheerfully for a few moments before following  
Rei. "Well, you know what they say: 'No news is good news.'"

Ami was walking along next to the blonde, reading a book that  
had seemingly materialized from nowhere. "I don't think that's the  
right phrase for this situation."

"Ami-chan..."

But Mako barely heard her friends as they moved away. Instead,  
she stared, transfixed, at the future King and Queen, her eyes  
becoming misty as she absently patted at her damp sleeve.

* * *

Another rock whistled through the air and joined its brothers in  
the creek. It wasn't often that Mako got in moods like these, but  
when they did hit, they were killers. She was thinking about how  
Usagi and Mamoru were (usually) so happy together, so supportive of  
one another, and so completely, utterly and totally in love.

And she was thinking of him. Her sempai.

She lethargically tossed a rock towards the water, this one  
barely making it past the shore. Mako sighed to herself and hugged  
her knees to her chest, chin resting on them and staring out at the  
view, willing herself not to cry.

All this time, and she still missed him. Hardly a day went by  
that he didn't cross her mind, if only fleetingly. Her friends  
would laugh and tease her for thinking that every guy she saw was  
exactly like her sempai, but none of them really understood. It  
wasn't that they physically looked like him, it was the ideal that  
each one suggested to her. Companionship. Love. Security. And  
she was as likely to get that from any of the males she encountered  
as she was from her sempai himself.

Mako's sadness quickly turned to a more familiar and comfortable  
emotion: Anger. She was mad at her friends for their ignorance and  
her sempai for his actions. But she was downright furious with  
herself for allowing the events of the past to still affect her to  
such an extent.

"DAMMIT!" As fast as lightning, another nearby rock was hurtled  
through the air toward the creek. Mako's eyes squeezed themselves  
shut as she worked to calm the rage building inside.

After a few brief moments, she realized that something was  
amiss. Some little detail was wrong, and it nagged at her like an  
itch she couldn't reach. She opened her eyes and then realized what  
the problem was. The rock had never hit the water.

This was probably because it was being held aloft by a creature  
of some sort, hovering several feet above the ground. It would have  
looked exactly like an average human female, were it not for the  
slightly bluish tinge to her skin and the fact that she could fly.

Mako stared at the creature and blinked a few times.

The woman stared back at Mako and wiggled the fingers of her  
empty hand in a small wave.

Then the battle instincts kicked in. With a hoarse cry, Mako  
flung herself from the rock on which she was perched, rolling along  
the ground and coming up into a defensive crouch. Her hand was  
already halfway to her henshin pen before Mako noticed that the  
creature was no longer floating where it had been before. In fact,  
she couldn't see it anywhere. Head jerking around madly, Mako tried  
to find where it had disappeared to when she heard a "Psst!" from  
above. Her eyes followed the sound and came to rest on the creature  
draped in the branches of a nearby tree, tossing the rock into the  
air and catching it in a nonchalant manner that was extremely  
annoying.

'That's it,' Mako thought to herself. "Jupit-"

"Please don't yell, you'll ruin the ambiance. Besides which, if  
you start throwing all that thunder at me, I won't get the chance to  
tell you why I'm here. And why I'm here should definitely interest  
you, Makoto Kino." As if to emphasize how important her purpose  
was, the woman yawned and then tossed the rock into the air a few  
more times.

Several tense moments passed as Mako realized that the creature  
didn't appear to be at all hostile. And, she had to admit, her  
curiosity was piqued. Releasing the grip on her pen, Mako came out  
of her crouch and stared into the tree, her eyebrow raised  
slightly. "Alright..." Mako began, somewhat trepidatious, "what's  
so important to me?"

The bored expression vanished from the woman's face and she  
smiled down at Mako, flicking her wrist again and sending the rock  
into the air. There was a shimmer and the woman disappeared from  
the branches, rematerializing almost instantly at the foot of the  
tree. She stuck her hand out and the rock landed neatly in her palm.  
"My name is Negai. I'm here to help you."


	2. Part 2

"No way. No way!"

Negai sighed and rolled her eyes. Conversation with the girl  
had been much the same as this for the past 15 minutes, the only  
variety coming from the occasional addition of "I can't believe  
it!" The whole thing was becoming rather tedious.

"Believe it, Kino-san," Negai tried again. "Anything you want.  
Just name it, and it's yours."

"No way!"

Negai ground her teeth together and quietly swore, then inhaled deeply  
before speaking again. "Entertaining as this is, I would really  
rather not still be having this discussion a week from Thursday, so  
I'll demonstrate briefly. Wish for something. ANYthing. It won't  
be permanent, so don't worry about wasting your one shot. This is  
highly irregular, but I don't see any other way around it."

"I can't bel-"

"KINO-SAN!"

Mako's head snapped back, but it seemed to be exactly what was  
needed to break her from the loop she had fallen into.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

Mako closed her eyes and set to thinking. She needed something  
that was impossible to ensure that Negai was telling the truth about  
receiving a wish. 'No way!' Mako's mind shouted, but she stifled  
the voice down. Something that was unlikely to happen, something  
unusual. Something like... Like...

"Make Usagi-chan as smart as Ami-chan."

Negai's eyes widened before looking at Mako appreciatively.  
"Know how to go for the jugular, don't you, Kino-san? Very well."

The woman's eyes closed and her hands started moving in an  
exotically hypnotic fashion. She began to chant, the syllables  
fading from Mako's memory as soon as they were spoken. The air  
seemed to vanish from the area as Negai's chanting grew louder and  
her gesturing more frantic. Blood was pounding in Mako's ears and  
she was certain she was going to faint. And then, abruptly,  
everything returned to normal. Mako looked over at Negai, who  
looked a little drained, but otherwise fine.

"Sorry about that, I had to use a rather strong spell to pull  
THAT one off." Mako nodded understandingly. "Now then, you've  
got approximately 15 minutes before Tsukino-san returns to her  
normal self. I suggest you find her quickly. I would hate to think  
that all my hard work went for nothing."

* * *

It was amazingly easy to find where Usagi had holed herself up.  
Following their reunion from the 5 minute break-up, Mamoru had used  
a time-honoured method to make Usagi happy again - he offered to  
buy her food. Knowing Usagi, she was probably still in the Crown  
Parlour, stuffing herself while Mamoru kept a mental tally going of  
how many odd jobs he would need to pay for it all.

Sure enough, there they were. Mako glanced through the window  
as she jogged toward the door. 'Looks like Mamoru-san will be  
working all next week, if those plates are any indication.' She  
tapped her foot impatiently as the door slid open, squeezing through  
it as soon as she could fit.

What she saw made her halt at the entrance, mouth gaping open  
in shock.

Usagi was not eating.

Oh, it was quite apparent that she had been earlier, and with  
great relish. Mako hadn't gotten a glimpse earlier at even a  
significant percentage of the dishes that crowded the table between  
the couple. But for now, Usagi sat with a half eaten sundae in  
front of her, examining the ice cream on her spoon closely and  
giving a lecture on its contents.

"...and the fats, known collectively as butterfats, are  
predominately of the regular (meaning triglyceride; I suspect  
mostly made up of palmitic and stearic acids, chemically bound to  
glycerin, of course) variety."

Mamoru looked positively sick with worry. His hand kept coming  
up and resting on Usagi's forehead, removing it when he could detect  
no sign that she had suddenly been afflicted with some kind of  
terrible, mind-shattering fever.

Mako walked slowly to their table and stood next to Mamoru,  
facing her friend who was busy rattling off the calorie content of  
all the food she'd just eaten.

"How long as she been like this?" Mako gently asked, her voice  
barely above a whisper.

"About 10 minutes." Mamoru's face was grave. "I don't  
understand what happened!"

Mako moved forward a few steps and knelt down. "Usagi-chan..."  
Usagi's attention moved from the stacks of dishes through which  
she was busily sorting to the face next to her. "Mako-chan!" she  
exclaimed happily. Then her expression took on a devilish look and  
she leaned over conspiringly, hand shielding her mouth from any  
onlookers. "Or should I say 'Jupiter-chan'?" With a huge wink,  
Usagi laughed loudly as though she had just told the funniest joke  
in the world, banging her hand on the table and causing the  
mountains of plates to wobble threateningly.

Suddenly, her face became intent again. "Did you know that  
Jupiter was named for the King of the Roman Gods and its symbol  
comes from one of his lightning bolts?" Mako was about to answer  
that yes, she did actually know that, but Usagi continued on with  
hardly a pause. "Jupiter accounts for more than two-thirds of all  
material in the Solar System outside of the Sun. And it would take  
318 Earths to equal its mass! Isn't that interesting? Its year is  
equal to 11.86 Earth years, and its day is 9 hours and 55 minutes  
long..."

Hardly taking time out to breathe, Usagi continued to list  
obscure facts about the planets as Mako stood again. She looked  
over at Mamoru, who appeared ready to rush his love to the hospital,  
and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Words of  
reassurance were about to be spoken when Usagi's lecture seemed to  
trail off, attracting everyone's attention.

Usagi was blinking hard, as though waking up from a long sleep.  
While she initially didn't seem to notice anybody there, her eyes  
soon lost their haze and she saw Mako's hand on Mamoru's shoulder.  
"Mako-chan," Usagi began, narrowing her eyes and shifting them  
to her friend. "Why are you hanging on my Mamo-chan?"

Mako was so surprised at the sudden change of tone in Usagi's  
voice that she didn't bother trying to defend herself or point out  
that she was hardly 'hanging' on Mamoru. Instead, she removed her  
hand and walked over to the blonde's side of the table. "What was  
that you were saying, Usagi-chan, about Mars?"

Usagi shrugged as she grabbed for a discarded spoon to eat the  
melted sundae in front of her. "She's a brat?"

Mamoru shook his head. "What about the triglycerides? Palmitic  
and stearic acids?"

"Tri-sig-la-huh?"

"Never mind, Usako."

Shrugging again, Usagi quickly finished off the sundae and began  
motioning to a waitress for another one. With a sympathetic look to  
Mamoru, Mako left the couple to continue with their date. The last  
thing she heard before the doors closed behind her was Usagi  
ordering a pizza to go with her latest sundae.

* * *

"Do you believe me now?"

Mako nodded her head, still not completely over the shock of  
hearing Usagi talking like an encyclopedia. Upon her return to the  
creek, Mako sat down and thought about everything she had just  
witnessed. Negai was apologetic of Usagi's seeming instability, but  
the sudden influx of knowledge had apparently thrown the girl  
somewhat out of kilter. Mako was assured that there was no  
permanent damage and Usagi would remember nothing of those 15  
minutes. Mamoru would probably attribute the extreme personality  
changes to the amount of food that Usagi had inhaled.

"Good, I'm glad. Now we can get down to business. So, name it  
kid. What would you like?"

Mako looked over at the woman, her brow furrowed in thought.  
"I... I don't know."

Negami sighed. "You're not making this easy for me, you know."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but... Well, there's just so much that  
can go WRONG. Your demonstration of Usagi-chan showed me that. If  
she had been left in that state, she probably would've gone insane!  
What's to stop whatever I wish for from backfiring on me, too?"

At this, the woman stopped rolling her eyes and looked at Mako  
strangely. "...that's a very good question. You're more  
intelligent than you look, Kino-san." Mako seemed about to take  
offense at this statement, but Negai didn't give her the chance as  
she continued, seemingly lost in thought. "I usually just grant the  
wish and then go home. The repercussions never cross my mind. Huh."

Negai seemed to reach a decision and her eyes refocused. She  
smiled warmly at Mako, who might've smiled back if she hadn't  
noticed the sharp edges to Negai's teeth, making the woman almost  
appear as though she were snarling.

"I like you, Kino-san. I think you're a terrible  
conversationalist, but I like you. This has already been one of the  
most irregular assignments I've had, so I may as well go all the  
way. I am going to grant you the ability to see the consequences of  
your actions... Temporarily, of course."

Negai uncurled herself gracefully and then, slowly, her hands  
began to move in a pattern similar to before. Syllables uttered  
slipped around and through thoughts like grains of sand, refusing to  
be held. As Negai's hand motions became faster and more desperate,  
the air surrounding her was filled with fine threads and fibers of  
rainbow-coloured light. Before long, they gathered together and  
began to weave towards their target.

Mako thought, not for the first time, that she was going insane.

* * *

The first thing Mako saw when she regained consciousness was the  
pinkish-yellow hues of the evening sky...with Negai's head  
superseding it. The girl gave a startled cry and had rolled away  
into another defensive crouch before she remembered where she was  
and came out of it, an embarrassed grin on her face.

Negai, for her part, was annoyed that this was the second time  
she had been almost attacked. "You should lighten up, Kino-san, not  
everyone is out to get you."

Mako had the decency to look apologetic before her curiosity  
took over. Her eyes shining, she asked Negai how her newfound power  
worked.

"Oh, very simple, just think of something you would wish for.  
You'll appear at some time in that future, if that had been what you  
'really' wished. You'll continue to experience that possibility  
until you decide if that's what you want or not."

So, it was that easy. Mako wracked her brain, trying to decide  
what her first "test" should be. She found her thoughts drifting  
back over the past few minutes, including her repeated treatment of  
Negai, something she truly felt bad for.

'If only I weren't so tomboyish and impulsi-'

And she wasn't.


	3. Part 3

"Mako-chan, are you alright?"

Mako felt the hand on her shoulder and looked at its owner.

Looked UP at its owner.

"I'm fine, Minako-chan, just a bit tired. You know how shopping  
can wear a girl out!"

Minako nodded her head solemnly, knowing her friend's statement  
to be only too true.

"If Mako-chan's tired, let's sit down for a bit," Rei called  
back to the group from a little further along. "I wanted to get  
started on the newest edition... Of... USAGI!"

A pair of wide and surprised eyes followed the blonde head in  
unburying themselves from a volume of manga. In one swift motion  
the book disappeared and Usagi was laughing hard, if unconvincingly.  
She stopped after several seconds, and tried to look innocent. She  
batted her eyelashes a few times and smiled sweetly. "Yes,  
Rei-chan?"

It didn't work.

With a snarl, Rei grabbed her manga back from wherever Usagi  
had hidden it and returned to the bag with her other purchases.

"Usagi, I haven't even READ that one yet!"

"No? Oh, it's really good, Rei-chan, towards the end Sailor V-"

"Usagi you idiot!"

It was impossible to determine if anything intelligible was said  
afterwards, and the disagreement soon degenerated into a pair of  
tongues being stuck out at each other anyway. As usual.

The two of them would stay like that all day if no one  
interceded, but peace came in its usual form of Ami. She walked  
between the combatants and grabbed each of them by a hand, tugging  
them towards the mall benches in a rough and in a rather  
un-Ami-like manner. She had lost the last of her patience with Rei  
and Usagi somewhere around their fifth fight of the day. The two  
immediately launched into simultaneous speeches defending  
themselves, the words combining to make comprehension an impossible  
task, even for one as smart as their blue-haired friend.

Ami just sighed to the world.

From a safe distance, Mako and Minako watched the usual battle  
with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. After a moment, Minko  
shrugged and winked at Mako before following the fading sounds of  
bickering.

Mako turned back to what had made her pause in the first place.  
She gazed at her reflection in the full length mirror that was  
propped up in a shop window.

A delicate and demure five-foot-three Mako gazed back.

* * *

A brush, some hairspray, a mirror, enough make-up to open her  
own cosmetics store... Mako was in heaven.

As soon as she sat down on the bench, she had delved into her  
purse - her beautiful purse which matched her shoes which matched  
her dress... She was ACCESORIZING! She was delighted.

The contents of her purse had been even better than she had  
dared to hope, and the packages she had bought that day were all  
from the petite clothing stores that she had only ever passed  
before.

The short period of time that she had spent with her friends in  
this form was the most comfortable she had ever felt when with them  
in public. She had always towered over her friends, feeling awkward  
and unsightly whenever anyone looked in their direction. She was  
sure that everyone was always gaping at her.

But now she was no longer the amazon that sparked fear into so  
many by her mere presence. Now, she felt truly like "one of the  
girls."

She reached her decision. If there was a catch to this way of  
life, she sure couldn't think of it. Taking a deep breath, Mako  
closed her eyes and opened her mind. 'I wish-'

"Look out!"

The raw terror and panic in the voice caused the five heads to  
swivel toward the sound as much as the words themselves. Within  
seconds of the warning, half of the wall opposite the girls  
collapsed, exposing a huge, salivating and feral looking  
monstrosity, gripping one of the mall patrons by the neck. The  
creature looked ready to rip the shopper's throat out, but chose  
instead to drain his energy before tossing him aside and preparing  
to grab another.

The area cleared in less than five seconds.

In less than five more, the monster was faced with the Sailor  
Senshi, not pleased that their day off had been interrupted.

Sailor Moon opened her mouth, preparing to severely chastize the  
creature for its behaviour and proclaim that she would not forgive  
it, when a furiously bellowing roar made her think twice about  
discussing the ethics of its actions.

She chose to hide behind Sailor Mars instead.

But for once, she had the right idea. "Defense positions,  
now!" Venus shouted, leaping in front of Sailor Jupiter. Mars was  
similarly shielding Sailor Moon and Mercury was behind all of them,  
her visor in place and computer whirring.

Due to her height, or lack thereof, Jupiter found it impossible  
to see the monster or attempt an attack. Whenever she poked her  
head around her friend, Venus' arm shielded the way, covering her  
again. Mako was beginning to get annoyed.

"Venus," Jupiter began calmly, "would you mind moving out of my  
way so I can GET that thing and we can try to enjoy the rest of the  
day?"

Despite the intensity of the situation, Venus favoured the girl  
with a chuckle. "Jupiter-chan, what are YOU going to do against  
that thing? Come on, now, stay still so I can protect you better."

Mako was incensed. What could she do? PROTECT her? Jupiter  
was about to loudly explain how she could take care of herself just  
fine, thank you very much, when a flash of heat and light signaled  
that Mars had attacked.

An high pitched yowl of pain was the first indication that Mars'  
fire had found its mark; the scorched stench of burnt flesh and fur,  
the second. And then there was nothing, the only sound coming from  
the crackling flames that raged where the monster been moments  
before.

With a happy cheer, Sailor Moon threw her arms around Mars,  
embracing the Senshi in a quick hug from behind. "Sailor Mars,  
you're the greatest!"

Mars turned around when Sailor Moon released her, a huge grin on  
her face. She gave her Princess a thumbs up. "Of course! You'd  
think that by now you'd stop being so surp-"

The horrible sound that emerged from behind the flames indicated  
that not only was the monster not dead, but it was less than happy  
with Mars' attempt to change that condition. Before the priestess  
could recover her position, a chunk of rubble from what had  
previously been the wall shot through the air and connected with her  
head.

Without making a sound, Mars was propelled across the mall and  
into the unsuspecting Mercury. Both hit the benches on which they  
had previously been sitting and slumped to the ground, unmoving.  
"REI-CHAN! AMI-CHAN!" Sailor Moon turned her back on the  
creature and started to move towards the bodies, her only concern  
being for her fallen friends. Venus wasn't allowed such a luxury as  
she noticed the monster, hurt and all the more dangerous, tensing  
and reading itself to pounce.

On instinct, Venus began to move towards the Princess, but she  
only got a few steps before stopping and casting an unsure eye  
towards Jupiter, who had been staring, open mouthed at their  
attacker. Which one was the target? Which one needed saving?  
By the time Venus realized that she was the the monster's prey,  
it was far too late for her to do anything about it.

"No, Minako-chan!" As another of her friends fell, Sailor Moon  
prepared to attack. Wounded though it was, the creature was still  
faster. The first hit knocked the weapon from her hands. The second  
sent her crumpling to the ground to join her protectors.

Without a pause, the monster turned towards the only Senshi  
still on her feet. Its eyes simmered with a burning hatred and it  
bared its teeth.

* * *

'Move!' Mako's body was unresponsive. 'MOVE!'

The best day of Mako's life was slowly turning into her worst  
nightmare, the wonder of her newfound situation ripped away by  
the horror of what had happened. There had been no problem until  
Rei had gone down, Ami quickly following. It was then that Mako  
realized it wasn't there.

Her power.

That was why Minako was protecting her. Jupiter was powerless.

Well, that wasn't completely true. Mako could feel SOMETHING  
stirring within her, but it wasn't the usual torrential storm that  
was barely contained by her burly frame. What she had now was more  
like a light shower. It was all that her new body could handle.

And so, Mako had watched each of her friends - family - fall, one  
by one, completely helpless to do anything about it. She didn't  
even have the physical strength to try and bruise the damned thing.

The monster knew it.

Now that all of its threats had been eliminated, it was almost  
toying with her - not attacking, but not letting her out of its  
sight, either. It was slowly circling the girl, not paying  
attention to the bodies that were strewn everywhere. Consequently,  
it never noticed that Sailor Moon was not out of the fight just yet.

Usagi had regained consciousness and quickly took in the  
situation. Rei, Amy, Minako... They were all hurt, no telling how  
bad. But Mako was still untouched. Usagi was going to die before she  
allowed another of her friends to be attacked by this thing. Before  
she could think about what she was doing, Sailor Moon had flung  
herself around the creature's neck, trying to divert its attention  
away from Mako and do as much damage as possible.

Mako was almost as surprised as the creature when, blond hair  
flying, Sailor Moon launched herself at it and tried to bring it  
down with her bare hands. She watched, entranced, as the once and  
future Princess gritted her teeth and landed another blow to the  
back of the thing's head.

Jupiter couldn't be strong here, so Sailor Moon was trying to be.

It was a valiant effort, but she never stood any real chance.  
Once the creature had recovered from the shock, Usagi was plucked  
from its back and thrown into the opposite wall, landing with a sick  
thud.

As Usagi slid to the ground, Mako watched with horror.

'Not like this. I don't want this!'

* * *

There was an incredible feeling of deja vu as Mako opened her  
eyes, again to be greeted by the mutli-coloured evening sky and  
Negai's face hovering over her own. Unlike before, however, the  
girl stayed lying on the ground; partly because she was getting used  
to Negai's presence and partly because the mere thought of moving  
made Mako's head throb in protest.

"Uhhh..."

"See? You're so much fun to talk to." Despite her words,  
however, Negai looked sympathetic and waved her hand. Magically,  
the guy with the jackhammer in Mako's head went on his lunch break  
and she was able to sit up, taking the time to thank the woman  
before a feeling of dread settled in her stomach.

"Usagi, Minako, Ami, Rei... Are they alright?"

"They're fine, Kino-san, they're fine! It was only a look at  
what MIGHT have been, not how things are. Here, see for yourself."

A full length mirror, similar to the one that Mako had gazed  
into during her 'vacation', appeared before her. Sure enough, there  
she was, the same Makoto Kino that had been looking back at her for  
years. Mako never thought she'd be so happy to be reminded of how  
tall and out of place she was.

Negai peered over the top of the mirror. "Didn't like it, huh?"

Mako shook her head emphatically. "Nope. It seemed to be going  
along great at first, but my friends... I couldn't fight with them  
that way."

With a big sigh, Mako turned away from her reflection and the  
mirror vanished. Negai stood by while Mako returned to the  
outcropping she had been sitting on before, deep in thought. "My  
friends are really all I have, they're my family. Ever since my  
parents-" Her head jerked up, eyes wide.

"My parents..."

* * *

"Makoto, honey, what's the matter?"

The girl turned and faced the soft green eyes that were focused  
on her, filled with concern.

"Nothing. Nothing at all is wrong. Everything's perfect... Mom."


	4. Part 4

The man chuckled and lowered his newspaper to see the same thing  
he had seen several times already that evening. His daughter was  
staring at him, entranced. She was a funny thing, his little  
Butterfly, she had hardly moved since coming into the room and  
noticing him. He began to wonder if he had sprouted a second head  
and hadn't noticed. It was disconcerting, having her eyes on him  
every second. Still, she looked so happy, he didn't have the heart  
to get angry at her. Sigh. He was such a pushover for these women.  
"What are you looking at, Mako-chan?"

"You."

He laughed again and shook his head, returning to where he left  
off in his paper.

After a few moments, he peered around the side of it to see his  
daughter still in the same position. Upon closer inspection,  
however, he noticed that she was silently crying. He instantly  
tossed his paper aside and moved to sit next to her, placing an arm  
comfortingly around her shoulders.

"Oh, sweetheart, what's the matter?"

Mako responded by emitting a huge sob and burying her face in  
his shirt. Shocked, the man didn't know what else to do but comfort  
her, so he did, stroking her hair and rocking her gently.  
All Mako could do was mutter over and over.

"You're alive! You're alive!"

* * *

Several reassuring words and a cup of her mother's special tea  
later and Mako felt like she was on top of the world. Her parents  
were both here, as wonderful and full of life as she remembered  
them to be.

Her mother was sitting at one end of the table, a concerned  
look on her face as she occasionally patted Mako's hand  
reassuringly. Her father was across from his wife on Mako's other  
side, his features less expressive but still wearing a worried  
frown. Both were waiting patiently for her to explain what had  
caused such a wave of emotion.

She didn't know where to start. How do you tell your parents  
that they'd been dead for years and that they only now existed  
because you wished it that way?

An ear-piercing siren cut off whatever Mako was about to say and  
she bolted upright, eyes darting about in surprise. Her mother's  
face suddenly drained of all colour and her father lept to his feet,  
the chair he'd been sitting in falling backwards.

"Dammit, they're attacking again!" He moved towards his wife  
and daughter, arm outstretched and waving his hand as if to make  
them move faster. "Downstairs, to the shelter. Hurry!"

Mako had no idea what her father was saying and the siren was  
wailing so loud that she couldn't concentrate to try and figure it  
out. Her parents didn't seem to notice her confusion as her mother  
urged her out of her seat. There was a flurry of activity, and the  
next thing Mako knew, she was flying down a flight of stairs into a  
cold and dark room. The door slammed shut behind her, drenching the  
area in darkness until a single lightbulb flickered to life over her  
head. Looking at her surroundings, Mako saw that it was filled with  
the basic necessities for survival and little else. If she  
listened hard, she could still hear the siren, although it now  
sounded as though it were coming from miles away instead of in her  
ear as it had before.

She felt her mother embrace her fiercely from behind as she  
looked up the flight of stairs to see her father fastening the last  
of at least a dozen locks on the door. He gave it a final,  
reassuring pat before joining his family, checking to make sure that  
both were okay.

"Yes, yes, we're fine, dear." Her mother gave Mako a final  
squeeze before busying herself with their surroundings, ensuring  
that everything was where it should be, although it seemed fairly  
obvious that the room was well stocked on a regular basis.

Mako was still feeling completely confused as she watched her  
mother methodically checking over the supplies with a speed that  
only came from familiarity. Her mother reached for a tin of canned  
food, and it was then that the memories came to her.

"They're attacking again!" her father had said. Now it seemed  
so obvious - The Dark Kingdom! Queen Beryl was launching another  
attack on the Earth, this one obviously in close enough proximity to  
set off the town's early warning system. Beryl's forces had been  
randomly attacking ever since... Ever since...

The answer refused to come to her. But there was something  
nagging at her, something that just didn't make sense. If Beryl was  
opening attacking the Earth, and had been for some time, whatever  
happened to...

"Daddy," Mako began, savouring the name, "what happened to the  
Sailor Senshi?"

Her father shifted his gaze from the door to his daughter,  
furrowed brow showing that he clearly didn't understand the  
question. "The who, sweetheart?"

Mako consciously fought down the panic rising in her throat.  
"The Senshi, Daddy. The Sailor Senshi."

The man started to shake his head when a soft voice off to the  
side attracted their attention. "Yes... I seem to remember hearing  
about them." Mako's mother had stopped checking their provisions  
and was moving towards the conversation, trying to catch an elusive  
thought. She looked towards her husband who still showed no signs  
of recognition. "You must remember, dear, you were telling me about  
some articles you read on them. A group of girls in Tokyo, about  
Mako's age, with strange names. Oh, what were they..?"

"Moon, Mars, Mercury, Venus."

Her mother was so caught up in trying to remember all that she  
could, the fear in Mako's voice went completely undetected. "That's  
right! They were named after planets! Odd."

"I remember now!" her father added, clapping his hands and  
nodding his head. "They fought the Dark Kingdom, said they stood  
for-"

"For love and justice," Mako whispered.

Her small voice spoke more volumes than anything else she could  
have said, and her parents were again ready to comfort. Her mother  
knelt down and grasped Mako's hands.

"I'm sorry, Mako-chan, but they're dead."

* * *

She had all of her memories of this life now. With the  
knowledge of how things SHOULD have been, it was a wonder that she  
didn't go mad. She assumed that it was only the knowledge that this  
was nothing more than a possibility was what helped her maintain a  
grip on sanity.

With her parents remaining alive, Mako had never moved to  
Tokyo. After being kicked out of her last school, her parents  
decided that she could best get along with private tutors. They  
certainly had the money for it, and with being taught at home, there  
was nobody around to try and instigate fights with her to prove how  
tough they were. There was no one who was being bullied and needed  
protecting. There was just Makoto and her parents, and both parties  
liked it fine that way.

On the other hand, without her parents' deaths, Mako didn't  
bounce from school to school and city to city, eventually winding up  
at Juuban Public School. She never rescued the blond girl with the  
peculiar hairstyle from getting roughed up, never later met the  
girl's friends in the arcade where she developed one of her many  
crushes on the telekinetic boy. She never followed him, fought  
against him, or discovered that cats could talk.

There never was a Sailor Jupiter. And her friends were all  
dead. Again.

The people of Earth lived in almost constant fear. Without the  
Sailor Senshi to stand in the way, Beryl seemed to have contented  
herself with taking over the world instead of destroying it. The  
various nations' militaries were of little use against the magical  
hordes of the Dark Kingdom, even when they could all put aside their  
differences and work together.

It seemed fairly obvious to everyone that Beryl was toying with  
them and that when she grew tired of these games, the Earth would  
fall completely under her control. The rate of the attacks had  
increased dramatically over the last few weeks. It seemed as though  
the Queen's desire to play was wearing thin.

Mako sighed heavily and looked at her parents. Her kind, gentle  
mother that she resembeled so much in appearance and who had never  
uttered a harsh word in her entire life. Her strong, handsome  
father from whom she had inherited her stubborn streak and the will  
to do what was right, no matter what the cost.

Like now.

She drew both of her beloved parents to her in a tight hug,  
keeping a desperate hold on the feelings of love and security that  
they fed to her.

"I love you both so much." Mako's voice was low and hoarse, but  
her determination never wavered. "I love you, and I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what, dear?"

"What's going on, Butterfly?"

Mako's only answer was to squeeze her parents tighter as she  
called out with her mind to end this wish.

* * *

She found that this time it was much easier to return to her  
reality. If she had been unconscious, it had only been for a few  
moments and there was no trace of the headache that had plagued her  
after her first attempt. In fact, the only evidence that she had  
seen her parents were her damp eyes and the dull ache in her heart.  
Negai floated into view, sitting cross-legged in the air. "No  
go, eh kid?"

"No go. I wanted to, I really did. But not only were all my  
friends...dead, but it seemed as though the rest of the world would  
be following them soon. No. It was hard, but I think that I'll  
have to make do with the little bit of time we all just had  
together."

The woman nodded understandingly. "So, Kino-san, what's next on  
the agenda?"

Mako leaned back and looked up at the sky. "Dunno. Right now  
I'm not sure that I'm really fit to handle this wish thing. I  
haven't felt this alone since-"


	5. Part 5

================================================  
A couple bits of this even made me a little uncomfortable, so it  
seems appropriate: potential trigger warning for domestic violence.  
================================================

'I've got to hurry, he'll be here any minute!'

Slamming the pan on the stove in her hurry, Mako swore as the  
hot oil sloshed over the sides, scalding her hand. She cast a  
frantic glance towards the clock, the hands still moving in their  
usual, uncaring manner. She was already running late, and didn't  
hesitate to ignore her injury until there would be time to tend to  
it.

The clock ticked off that another minute had passed and the  
women seriously began to feel pressured. Her stomach was fluttering  
uneasily and sweat appeared on her brow. Opening a nearby cupboard,  
Mako grabbed a plate and began to arrange the food from the many  
pots and pans that littered the kitchen.

'Neat. Has to look attractive or he won't like it.'

She kept repeating this to herself, focusing three-quarters of  
her attention on the task in front of her, the remainder keeping a  
wary eye on the clock. It seemed to take an eternity to make the  
dish look the way he liked, but he still hadn't arrived as she burst  
through the door between the kitchen and dining room. The table had  
already been set in a magnificently luxurious manner, the only odd  
thing about it being that there was only one place set. It seemed  
intensely out of place, just one end being decorated on the huge  
table that could comfortably seat twenty.

Mako gingerly set the plate down in the center of the  
arrangement, careful not to move any of the food from its delicate  
position, and then turned back to the kitchen to get the basket of  
bread she had baked fresh that morning.

The key unlocking the front door told her that she was just a  
little too late this time and she froze in panic. Should she run  
and try to make it to the table with the remainder of his meal  
before he could see it? No, he would know. He always knew. Better  
then to simply stay where she was and hope he had not had a bad day  
at work.

Slowly he walked into the room, peering around the corner and  
looking at the table setting. Without a word, or even a glance at  
the woman standing by the swinging door, he removed his tie and  
tossed it over his shoulder where it landed in a crumpled heap on  
the hardwood floor.

The woman hesitated momentarily, unsure which path was the best  
one to chose, only positive that whichever one she picked, it would  
be the wrong one. But she had to do something, so she moved as  
quickly as possible to snatch the tie from the ground, checking  
first to make sure that her hands were clean and wouldn't mess up  
the expensive fabric. She winced as she was reminded of the burn,  
temporarily forgotten in her panic. Oh well, no time to take care  
of it now. It would have to wait.

If her decision to pick up his discarded clothing from the floor  
was the incorrect one, the man made no indication of it. He just  
continued walking towards the food at the end of the table,  
examining it and everything else in the dining room. Mako returned  
to her former position by the doorway as she watched him circle  
around the chair like a predator who had cornered its prey.

He gave a noncommital grunt before pulling his seat back from  
the table and preparing to consume the meal in front of him. Mako  
held her breath. She had spent all of her time that day preparing  
it, when she hadn't been cleaning the house or doing his laundry.

'Please let him have had a good day, please...'

The man finished chewing and swallowed, reaching for the glass  
of wine in front of him as he surveyed the rest of the table.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Yes, of course, I was just on my way to-"

"No excuses. Just get it."

Mako nodded quickly and rushed into the kitchen for the basket  
of bread, thanking whatever gods watched over her that her husband  
was in a good mood after all.

* * *

Half an hour later, the man was finishing his meal while his  
wife continued to hover in the doorway as she had since bringing him  
the remainder of the food, ready to fetch him whatever he asked for  
in seconds. He supressed a satisfied smirk at her subservience. It  
had taken a while to get her to this point, but he did so love a  
challenge. And he had to admit, it had all been worth it. He settled  
back in the chair and tossed his napkin on the table. Instantly, she  
was there, cleaning up his dishes. He supposed that she would eat  
something later; he never bothered to find out. As she leaned across  
the table to get his empty glass, he noticed the burn on her hand. His  
eyes widened and he looked at the woman with surprise.

"What the hell is that?"

She didn't seem to know what he was referring to at first, but  
then understanding dawned and she tried to hide her hand.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

"What do you mean 'nothing', you've been around food - MY  
food - with a wound like that! Do you have any idea what kind of  
bacteria you could have infested me with?"

She was about to explain that it happened after his dinner had  
already been made and that she just hadn't had time to bandage it,  
but he cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Whatever, just go cover it up or something, it's disgusting to  
look at."

The woman nodded and turned towards the bathroom when a hand  
gripped her arm and warm breath on the back of her neck made her  
freeze in place. "You don't look half bad today, you know. If  
you're really good, I'll even come up and visit you tonight."

He had to will himself not to laugh as he saw her back  
straighten in alarm and her muscles tense under his hand. He'd been  
more than nice and understanding so far this evening, even though  
she STILL hadn't had everything ready like she was supposed to.  
Now it was time for some fun.

* * *

The mere thought of him touching her made Mako want to scream  
and she had to fight down the bile rising in her throat. A voice  
began to reverberate across her mind, yelling that this was wrong  
and that she had to do something to escape, but she supressed it,  
just as she had been supressing it for almost nine years.

"What's the matter," he asked, his voice low as he spoke into  
her ear, "don't feel up to it?" Laughing without a trace of humour,  
he threw Mako's arm away, releasing his hold on her. She inhaled  
deeply, realzing that she'd been holding her breath since his first  
touch.

"I'm not surprised, the only thing you're somewhat useful for is  
keeping the house in shape."

The voice again popped into Mako's head, and she again shoved it  
to one side, although she turned around to face her husband  
squarely. Usually she averted her eyes, and he seemed to perk up at  
this sudden spark that he had assumed was long since extinguished.

He took a few steps towards her, expecting her gaze to drop, but  
she held his. He wasn't sure if he was more angry or impressed.  
Either way, he was really getting into the fight now. Time to bring  
out the big guns.

"You're no good, but you know who might be? One of those  
friends of yours you always seem so protective of." Mako's eyes  
narrowed threateningly, and the man returned the look with a cruel  
smirk, knowing that he had hit a nerve.

"Yeah, I think one of them might suit the bill perfectly. How  
about that cute little blue haired one, she looks like she could use  
a real man in her life. No? I could really go for that psychic. She's  
by herself, I'm sure that she'd welcome someone like me to keep her  
company." Ignoring Mako's furious snarl, the man snapped his fingers  
as if suddenly seeing the perfect soluation to a persistant problem.  
"That's it! I'll go for one of those blondes. The one that's been  
married forever. Being stuck with the same thing every day, she must  
be so bored she'd probably welcome a change of pace. Hell, I'll go  
after all four of them. Maybe you'd like to watch and learn a thing  
or two?"

He'd been so caught up in his plans for conquest that he never  
saw the fist until it had already left his stomach and was heading  
for his jaw. As he crumpled to the ground, unconscious, Mako felt  
as though that had been incredibly theraputic.

"Not in a million years, 'sempai'. I'm outta here, you son of a  
bitch."


	6. Conclusion

"Kino-san, you're positively GLOWING!"

Mako nodded as she looked over at Negai in the dying light,  
feeling as though a huge weight that she hadn't even known she was  
carrying had been lifted from her shoulders.

"That was - wow. That was so different from the other two. This  
time, I was more of an observer than a participant. I actually had  
to fight to make myself do anything!"

"His hold on you was very strong. And now?"

"Now, for the first time, I feel like I am actually free. Free!"  
Mako threw her head back in a joyous laugh and she rushed to  
embrace Negai.

* * *

"It's getting late. What are you going to wish for, Kino-san?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing. Not a thing."

Negai was certain that the girl had lost it.

Mako simply smiled. "It took all of this to make me realize  
that my life is really pretty good just the way it is. Okay, so I  
stand out in a crowd. But you know, my friends never once judged me  
because of it, and I've got to admit, it's pretty handy to be able  
to toss anyone that's bugging you out like the garbage.

"My parents are dead and that's a terrible thing. But seeing  
them again today, even if only for a little while, reminded me that  
we're never really far apart. Not if I keep them right here in my  
heart - where they always have been and always will be.

"And then there's...him. I spent I don't know how long wishing  
that he would come back into my life. Despite how he treated me  
when we were together, I still wanted him back. I can't believe how  
much energy and how many tears I wasted on him! But now my life can  
move on."

The girl looked over at her friend sincerely. "Thank you, Negai,  
for helping me to appreciate what I've got right now. I'm grateful  
for your offer - but I don't need it."

Negai remained unmoving for a few moments, and then she, too,  
smiled. "You're a very special person, Kino-san." With a wave of  
Negai's hand, Mako felt the abilities she had aquired fade away.  
She wasn't sorry to see them go.

Both remained seated for a while, looking out over the water at  
the star-filled sky and the full moon. Finally, Mako stood and took  
a final look at the woman.

"I'd better get home. I've got to meet the girls for some  
serious shopping tomorrow and I'll need my rest. I get the feeling  
that tomorrow will be a whole new beginning." With that, Mako waved  
goodbye and walked away, leaving only Negai hovering over the spot  
she had first appeared in.

"I've got the same kind of feeling. I hope we're both right.  
Have a happy ending, Mako-chan, you deserve it."

* * *

=================================================  
This story is dedicated to and, in fact, written for UPN Mulder.  
It all came about one glorious day when UPN replied to me with  
comments concerning another story of mine and ranted about all the  
horrible things that seem to happen to Jupiter in fanfics that I  
post. Totally unintentional, of course, I'm very fond of Makoto.

Anyway, I vowed then and there to write a story revolving around  
Jupiter that had a happy ending, and thus this story.

Never say I never do anything nice.  
=================================================


End file.
